Mesh Automation

Buffing and Machine Tending

Mesh Automation > Case Studies > Buffing and Machine Tending
Pallets stacked with shiny, cylindrical metal components in a warehouse, ready for the next stage of processing.
A conveyor system in an industrial setting, designed for transporting cylindrical metal components through various stages of production.
Close-up view of a robotic arm with a gripping mechanism, integrated into an industrial setup for handling and processing metal components
Wide-angle view of an industrial robotic workcell with a yellow robotic arm, designed for automated processing of metal components.
Close-up of neatly stacked cylindrical metal components on a pallet, with a cloth cover placed on top of one stack.
Detailed view of a robotic arm with precision gripping tools, positioned to handle a cylindrical metal component within an industrial machine.
Pallets stacked with shiny, cylindrical metal components in a warehouse, ready for the next stage of processing.
A conveyor system in an industrial setting, designed for transporting cylindrical metal components through various stages of production.
Close-up view of a robotic arm with a gripping mechanism, integrated into an industrial setup for handling and processing metal components
Wide-angle view of an industrial robotic workcell with a yellow robotic arm, designed for automated processing of metal components.
Close-up of neatly stacked cylindrical metal components on a pallet, with a cloth cover placed on top of one stack.
Detailed view of a robotic arm with precision gripping tools, positioned to handle a cylindrical metal component within an industrial machine.
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Customer Requirement

Our customer is a manufacturer of fire extinguishers who needed an efficient material handling solution to test, polish, label and inspect their stainless-steel shells.

The product is a stainless-steel round shell, a formed bottom and a top that is welded onto the shell. The final appearance of the fire extinguisher is important to the end users who are often fire department personnel, fire truck manufacturers, ship and boat manufacturers and onboard ship personnel.

Solving the Problem

MESH designed and built the overall system flow, specified the testing equipment, designed and built the conveyor system and the polishing machine, sourced and integrated the FANUC robots for loading and unloading the testing equipment and the polisher, and managed the whole process via our user-friendly operator interface and PLC control package.

Automation Equipment
  • Two FANUC M710iC 45M robots for loading and unloading the test equipment and the MESH polishing machine
  • Material handling dress packages and grippers are designed to grasp the shells on the outside without leaving witness marks.
  • A conveyor system with PLC controls to move the shells to and from the robots.

The polishing machine is self-contained in a noise and lint-controlled structure. It has automatic fixtures and automatic doors. The machine has a spindle drive and two servo drives and is configured much like a horizontal lathe. The spindle drive rotates the shell while the two servo-driven axes feed the polishing heads along the horizontal axis and apply pressure against the shell in the direction of the centerline of the machine.

The overall system has a safety system to meet or exceed OSHA, A3, and all government safety standards.

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